- Born:
- February 29, 1904, Madura, Madras Presidency, British India [now Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India]
- Died:
- February 24, 1986, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (aged 81)
Rukmini Devi Arundale
-
Who was Rukmini Devi Arundale?
Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904–1986) was an Indian classical dancer and theosophist who revitalized the bharata natyam dance form. She founded the Kalakshetra Foundation in Madras (now Chennai) to preserve and promote bharata natyam and other Indian traditions, as well as to spread the ideals of theosophy. She trained under Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai and gave her first public performance in 1935 at the Theosophical Society.
Arundale purged bharata natyam of its erotic elements, emphasizing devotion, and introduced sophisticated costumes, jewelry, and stage designs. She also adopted a dance-drama format, creating numerous pieces, including six dances from the Hindu epic Ramayana. Her work was integral to the revival of bharata natyam, elevating the tradition and its practitioners.
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What kind of dance was Rukmini Devi Arundale famous for?
Rukmini Devi Arundale, born in 1904, was renowned for her contributions to bharata natyam, a classical Indian dance form. She played a crucial role in revitalizing this dance style and dispelling negative stereotypes associated with its practitioners.
Arundale trained under Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai and gave her first public performance in 1935. In 1936, she founded the Kalakshetra Foundation in Madras (now Chennai) to preserve and popularize bharata natyam, as well as other Indian traditions. She purged the dance of its erotic elements and incorporated aesthetically designed costumes, jewelry, and stage scenarios. Her work helped elevate the status of bharata natyam and its practitioners, earning her the Padma Bhushan in 1956.
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What is Bharatanatyam and how did Rukmini Devi contribute to it?
Bharatanatyam is a classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu, South India, tracing its roots to the Natyashastra. It was originally a temple dance performed by women and used to express Hindu religious stories. The dance is characterized by bent legs and rhythmic feet, while hand gestures tell a story.
Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904–1986) was instrumental in reviving Bharatanatyam and elevating the dance's status. She purged the dance of its erotic elements and invested it with devotion. Arundale also introduced sophisticated costumes, jewelry, and stage scenarios. She conceived and choreographed Bharatanatyam pieces, including dances from the Hindu epic Ramayana. Her work helped transform the dance into an art form appreciated worldwide, and her Kalakshetra Foundation helped ensure its transmission to future generations.
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What does being a theosophist mean, and how was Rukmini Devi involved in theosophy?
Theosophy combines mysticism with the belief that all religions contain inner, hidden meanings that can be deciphered to access mysteries of nature and inner human essence. The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, promotes universal brotherhood, comparative religion studies, and investigation of unexplained laws of nature.
Rukmini Devi Arundale, born in India in 1904, was a follower of theosophy. Growing up in a Brahman family associated with the Theosophical Society, she was influenced by Annie Besant and George Arundale, whom she later married. Arundale traveled extensively on theosophical missions and established the Kalakshetra Foundation to preserve Indian traditions and spread the ideals of theosophy.
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How did Rukmini Devi help revive and popularize Bharatanatyam in India?
Rukmini Devi Arundale significantly contributed to the revival and popularization of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form. She aimed to eliminate negative stereotypes associated with its female practitioners and revive the dance form itself.
Arundale trained under Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai and gave her first public performance in 1935 at the Theosophical Society. In 1936, she founded Kalakshetra, an academy dedicated to cultivating the Bharatanatyam tradition and spreading the ideals of theosophy. She broadened the dance's appeal by removing its erotic element and instilling devotion, while also introducing sophisticated costumes, jewelry, and stage scenarios. Her work helped transform the dance into an art form appreciated worldwide and ensured its transmission to future generations.
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What important institutions and contributions did Rukmini Devi make to Indian arts and education?
Rukmini Devi Arundale significantly contributed to Indian arts and education through her work in the revival of the bharata natyam dance form. She founded the Kalakshetra Foundation in 1936, an institution dedicated to preserving and popularizing bharata natyam and other Indian traditions. Additionally, she established the Besant Theosophical High School and the Besant Arundale Senior Secondary School in 1934 to provide education rooted in theosophist and traditional Hindu values. Arundale's efforts helped remove negative stereotypes associated with bharata natyam and elevated its status, transforming it into an art form appreciated worldwide.
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Rukmini Devi Arundale (born February 29, 1904, Madura, Madras Presidency, British India [now Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India]—died February 24, 1986, Chennai, Tamil Nadu) was an Indian classical dancer and follower of theosophy, best known for catalyzing the renaissance of the bharata natyam dance form and founding the Kalakshetra Foundation in Madras (now Chennai). The foundation aimed to preserve and popularize bharata natyam and other Indian traditions as well as to spread the ideals of theosophy.
Born to South Indian Sanskrit scholar and historian K.A. Nilakanta Sastri and his wife Seshammal, Arundale was reared in an upper-class Brahman family in Adyar, a suburb of Madras. Her father was closely associated with the Theosophical Society, a monistic (emphasizing unity in the diversity of all phenomena) spiritual organization headquartered in Madras though founded in New York City. Arundale was greatly influenced as a young woman not only by her father but also by Annie Besant, the Theosophical Society’s British cofounder and president (1907–33), as well as by British educator and theosophist George Arundale, whom she married in 1920.
Arundale traveled extensively with her husband and Besant on various theosophical missions, all the while absorbing the ideology of the society. Also during her travels, Arundale became enamoured with classical dance. She was initially drawn to Western ballet, and Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova arranged for her to study with Cleo Nordi (one of Pavlova’s students). Pavlova also advised Arundale to seek inspiration in traditional Indian arts.
Arundale took Pavlova’s advice to heart and subsequently embarked on a campaign to study and promote bharata natyam, a type of South Indian classical dance that was traditionally performed in Hindu temples. In so doing, she aimed both to resurrect a moribund Indian art form and to reverse the negative social stereotypes associated with its female practitioners—the temple servants known as devadasis, whose obligations to the temple deity involved prostitution. Arundale formally trained under Pandanallur Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, a respected nattuvanar (male bharata natyam director), and gave her first public performance, at the Theosophical Society, in 1935. That event was remarkable not only on account of Arundale’s artistry but also because it was a staged, public performance (as opposed to a temple event), and it set a precedent for upper-class women to practice an art form traditionally associated with a widely maligned lower-class community.
Meanwhile, in 1934, the year after Besant’s death, Arundale established the Besant Theosophical High School and the Besant Arundale Senior Secondary School to impart education based on both theosophist and traditional Hindu values. In 1936 she added Kalakshetra, an Indian arts academy that was especially dedicated to the cultivation of the bharata natyam tradition. Together, the high school, the senior secondary school, and the arts academy became the Kalakshetra Foundation.
Building on the efforts of T. Balasaraswati and other dancers from the devadasi community who had similarly striven to bring bharata natyam from the temple grounds into the public sphere, Arundale took steps to broaden the dance’s appeal as she developed the Kalakshetra curriculum. She worked to purge bharata natyam of its shringara (erotic) element, investing it instead with an aura of bhakti (devotion). She also introduced aesthetically designed costumes, jewelry, and stage scenarios. To add contemporary sophistication to the productions, she adopted a dance-drama format. Arundale conceived and choreographed numerous bharata natyam pieces in the new style, including six dances derived from the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana, which have remained among her best-known works.
Ultimately, Arundale’s work was integral to the revival of bharata natyam and to the elevation in status of both the tradition and its practitioners. The interplay of elements of stagecraft, lighting, costumes, music, and choreography, moreover, transformed the devotional experience into an art form that could be appreciated on a global platform. Kalakshetra’s institutionalization of the dance form also helped ensure its transmission to future generations. In recognition of her services to Indian culture, Arundale received the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours, in 1956. She also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi (India’s national academy of music, arts, and dance) Award in 1957, and in 1993 the Indian parliament declared her foundation an institution of national importance.
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